Professor Simon Maskharashvili has many more stories of Georgia
which have escaped our text-books and are waiting for him to put at our judgment

by Madonna Siharulidze

Statehood is a clear indication of the level of cultural development. There are not many nations out there in the world who were endowed with a statehood before the Christian era, and have also maintained the statehood until our times. Among these very few nations might be reckoned China, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Persia, Georgia...

GJ - We have already talked about the formation of the Georgian ethnos, the establishment of the first Georgian state, creation of the Georgian language and writing. What was the role played by Georgia in the political and economic system of the oldest states known to history? To put it more concisely, what kind of a contribution has Georgia made into the history of the world culture? Is there anything very specific that has distinguished this nation to that extent?

SM - I am not sure whether it was the will of God or just a twist of fate, but regretfully we are no longer in possession of the most grandiose and most impressive visual historical evidence created by Georgians. Had that evidence been still around it could have proudly competed with Notre-Dame, Vatican, Florence or Milan.

GJ - What do you precisely mean?

SM - For example, the ancient city of Phasis - today's Poti (the Golden Fleece state) of the time of King Aeetes, which is currently lying under the depth of the see and may never be restored no matter how hard we try to revive this great culture. I have another, more vivid illustration! If architecture is appreciated in terms of its skillful confluence with the nature, then our Vardzia (near Akhaltsikhe in South-East Georgia) is an example - the amazing city carved in a rock as a temple which was completely destroyed by the earthquake. What ever remains out of it, is just the complex of natural caves. Take for instance the medieval Tbilisi, a well-developed beautiful city, which was turned into ruins as a result of the Mongol invasion.

GJ - So what is it that has survived to be proud of?

SM - There is a lot that corroborates the role of Georgians in the formation of fundamentals of the world culture. The oldest and the most important lore possessed by Georgians was the knowledge of processing and usage of obsidian, the volcanic glass mineral which was widely used in everyday domestic life. To say more, no pyramids could have been built and no Mesopotamian culture could have come into existence if not for the technology of acquiring the bronze. The first manufacturers of a bronze heater were our ancestors of the old Chaldean tribes in Asia and Caucasus. The first cultural exploit that took place right after this was making of wine by Noah. After the Great Flood, as we all know, Noah's Ark had rested on the territory of Caucasus. The people who have secured and preserved the culture of wine-making are Georgians. This is why the whole world is calling Georgia the homeland of wine. Georgia is also recognized as the homeland of wheat (bread). Incidentally, there goes a word in the Georgian language - 'Purgvino' (literally, bread and wine) - meaning festive treatment of a guest with food and drink. For instance, a traditional description of an abundant household would be 'a family full of Pur-Gvino' - abounding in food and drinks and ready to lavishly treat a guest with them. In addition to its domestic meaning, wine is a beverage transforming into the blood of Our Savior while administering the mass (liturgy), and bread is the food turning into His flesh. Could there be anything more sacral and accomplished among the acts of cultures than this amazingly enigmatic religious rite! Now the gold and the medicine! These, and many more, are the phenomena that seem just as significant to me while speaking about the contributions made by the Georgian people into the life of the civilized world. Look, we need to talk about those things in more details. Why don't we do it at our next session which I am looking forward to with an unfeigned enthusiasm.

GJ - Last time we talked about lost and ruined cities of Georgia, about the fact of possession of glass and bronze technology by Georgians and about the oldest tradition of wine-making in this country. We stopped at the phenomena of gold and medicine. What is it that you wanted to deliberate on at this time?

SM - There are various historical and mythological sources elucidating on gold mining in general, but the most unique one is the story of extracting gold by means of a fleece which happens to be a 38 hundred year old Colchian technology. You have probably guessed that I am talking about King Aeetes' Golden Fleece - the myth of Argonauts.

GJ - How about the medicinal art in ancient Georgia?

SM - The first woman-medic who had a skill of mixing medicine and had mastered the mystery of medicinal secrets was Medea, the Princess of the Colchis (Georgia).

GJ - What does the Golden Fleece represent? What is so special about it?

SM - The most special side of it is that it is an encyclopedia of its kind which contained the information on metallurgical mastery. I think we have mentioned before the Khalibs, the Laz-Megrel tribe, who were the ancestors of contemporary Georgians. They are the first people in the history of civilization who had managed to manufacture steel. Interestingly, the Greek for steel is 'Khalib'. The same historical thinking is lavishly corroborated by the results of modern archeological excavations - the batons belonging to Khevisberi or Mamasakhlisi (Heads of tribe) were adorned not with gold, silver or bronze, but with a piece of hematite. This variety of ore was used as a precious stone in old times. It was employed as a raw material too for producing steel.

GJ - Is anything known about Georgia's economic and financial role in the ancient world?

SM - Nobody argues any more about the leadership of Greek City-States in the world merchant-marine economic system of that time. Just as well, there is no argument about the fact of Iran's being the world's most influential land-based centralized empire. But it is also a fact that one hundred years prior to Persians, Greeks and Romans, in the 6th century, the most indispensable attribute of the economic system, the coin was created in the country of Colchis, and it was called the Colchian Tetri.

GJ - Do we have any information about Georgia's political role?

SM - Yes, we do! And that is the phenomenon of democracy - the parliamentary model of the nation's political arrangement. The paradigm of a tribal assembly and the model of community meetings are coming from the old Chaldean-Iberian world. This kind of a political system is characteristic only for these tribes and only for those places to where the representatives of those tribes had migrated. For example, the ancient Etruscans - to Italy, the Iberians - to France, Spain and Britain, the Pelazgs - to Greece. Only these countries are characterized organically by the clan-oriented tribal political model of societal management. Only after this had taken place the further development of higher political organization, like the Senate in Rome, the Areopagus in Greece, the Parliament in Britain, the Cortes in Spain and the General Staff in France. This is all, in that order, the pre-history of the foundations of parliamentarism on which so firmly rests today the world's liberal democracy.

GJ - This sounds like an exaggeration, doesn't it?

SM - No, it does not! We are using irrefutable facts to prove these statements, and as you might know better than me, facts are prone to persevere.

It's truly pathetic to see how these swarthy and sleazy Kavkazcy are trying to fool people into believing they're supposedly White. They're the main cause of Russia's ethno-racial problems, the many Chechens, Georgians and what-not infesting Russian cities and behaving like typical non-White parasites. And we're supposed to believe they're ‘White’?

It's truly pathetic to see how these swarthy and sleazy Kavkazcy are trying to fool people into believing they're supposedly White. They're the main cause of Russia's ethno-racial problems, the many Chechens, Georgians and what-not infesting Russian cities and behaving like typical non-White parasites. And we're supposed to believe they're ‘White’?

You're small parasite of this theard. Where so much grief about Caucasians?I said you, left me to rest.Russia long time have ethno-racial problem (from mongolians invasion), until begin you from Mongols,Tatars,Chukchee, but let have Caucasians.If I'm so bad, so "black", please left me.While your forfather saws light of sun (I mean cultural life of you country), before we had our great culture and reach history (to enumerate all, not enough for the entire forum),as seen,that is why, you have this grief about us. This is signify of big complexe, dearling.

"Our race is the Master Race. The Jews are divine gods on this planet. We are as different from the inferior races as they are from insects. In fact, compared to our race, other races are beasts and animals, cattle at best. Other races are considered as human excrement. Our destiny is to rule over the inferior races. The masses will serve as our slaves.''

It's truly pathetic to see how these swarthy and sleazy Kavkazcy are trying to fool people into believing they're supposedly White. They're the main cause of Russia's ethno-racial problems, the many Chechens, Georgians and what-not infesting Russian cities and behaving like typical non-White parasites. And we're supposed to believe they're ‘White’?

They are not white,they are same mongrels as albanians are.Worse of all,they are stupid,they think they can match with mighty Russia.Our slavic brothers dont want this subhumans on this forum,neither do we.

They are not white,they are same mongrels as albanians are.Worse of all,they are stupid,they think they can match with mighty Russia.Our slavic brothers dont want this subhumans on this forum,neither do we.

All word, which you said all awarded you, uneducated! коз..л. ნაბიჭვარო.